Equipment leasing association survey: New rail equipment leases declined in 2013

Railroad equipment represented 1.8 percent of new equipment financing business in 2013, down 2.3 percent from 2012, according to an Equipment Leasing and Financing Association (ELFA) survey of member companies.

The association's recently released "2014 Survey of Equipment Finance Activity" also found that as an end-user of equipment finance, the rail industry represented 0.3 percent of members' new business volume in 2013, which was unchanged from 2012.

Additionally, the association's "Q3 2014 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook" report states that railroad equipment investment will improve from its recent contraction toward modest growth in 2014. Investment in railroad equipment increased at a 33.3 percent annualized rate in first-quarter 2014, but in July declined 4.2 percent year over year, ELFA officials said in a press release.

The two reports are available for review at www.elfaonline.org.